Congress asks FDA for proof that BPA is safe

Congress asks the FDA to prove that BPA is safe or take it off the market.

There is a landmark food safety bill that has been making a lot of noise on Capitol Hill these days. Most greenies have been playing close attention to the bill — in particular, as it relates to the future of organic farming in the U.S. But one aspect of the bill seems to have slid by without much notice, and it has to do with a very hot topic — BPA. In the bill, the House gave the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) a deadline to prove once and for all that bisphenol A (BPA) is safe, or restrict its use in products used by pregnant women and young children.

If the Senate keeps the provision in the final food safety bill, the FDA will have until the end of this year to decide whether not BPA is safe. Most notably, the bill states that if the FDA cannot make a determination, then it must restrict the use of bisphenol A in products designed for pregnant women, babies and young children.

Over the years, the FDA has consistently endorsed the safety of BPA, even after it received intense criticism for ignoring independent research, and relying instead on a handful of studies by the chemical industry. Still, the FDA has never produced any significant information to prove that BPA is safe, nor has it been asked to do so ... until now.